SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule has successfully docked at International Space Station (ISS) early Sunday morning, May 31. According to The Verge's latest report, the successful mission brought SpaceX's first crew to the orbiting outpost, marking another milestone for the first crewed mission of SpaceX's Crew Dragon after it launched on May 30, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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The Crew Dragon's passengers of NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are expected to stay onboard the ISS for about four months. They will join three crewmates already living onboard the ISS, Russian cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanish, including NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy.

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"It's been a real honor to be a small part of this nine-year endeavor since the last time a United States spaceship docked with the International Space Station," said Doug Hurley. "We have to congratulate the men and women of SpaceX, at Hawthorne McGregor and Kennedy Space Center. Their incredible efforts over the last several years to make this possible can not go overstated." 

SpaceX's Crew Dragon successfully docks at ISS showing its newest feature; NASA astronauts to stay for about 4 months

The successful mission of SpaceX's Crew Dragon featured one of its biggest innovations, its automated docking system. The developers of the space vehicle designed the Crew Dragon capsule to autonomously approach theISS and latch onto a standardized docking port without needing any input from its human passengers.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon Successfully Docked With ISS Showing Its Newest Feature: NASA Astronauts Will Stay For About 4 Months
(Photo : Screenshot from Twitter post of @dailyspace00)
SpaceX's Crew Dragon Successfully Docked With ISS Showing Its Newest Feature: NASA Astronauts Will Stay For About 4 Months

This feature was also showcased last year when SpaceX sent a test version of the Crew Dragon, without a crew on board, to the ISS. The automated docking capability of the Crew Dragon is a significant upgrade for the space vehicle since its predecessor, SpaceX's cargo Dragon, didn't have the feature when it arrived at the ISS to deliver food and other supplies.

After traveling for 19 hours in space, the vehicle successfully arrived at the ISS after its launch on May 30. The space capsule was christened by Hurley and Behnken as "Endeavour" after reaching orbit.

"We chose Endeavour for a few reasons: one, because of this incredible endeavor NASA, SpaceX, and the United States has been on since the end of the Shuttle program back in 2011," said Hurley during a streamed video event.

"The other reason we named it Endeavour is a little more personal to Bob and I. We both had our first flights on Shuttle Endeavour, and it just meant so much to us to carry on that name," he explained.

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